Third
by oh.holy.martel
Summary: The mage is always third. First comes the hero, second comes the princess, and third is the mage. For once, Rita wanted to be first. It'll take an Emperor to get her to realize that she isn't as ignored as she thought. RitaxIoder. Iota.
1. Chapter 1

The mage is always third. First comes the hero, who got through the whole thing by virtue of either the worst or best luck on Terca Lumireis, able to say he saved the entire world with a smirk. Second comes the love interest, the princess, the healer. The prisoner. The sacrifice. Everyone loves the princess, but they hate her, too, sometimes, at night when they can't see her blissfully open smile. (Of course, Rita wouldn't know anything about that.)

In the histories, they will list those two first. After them will be the mage, someone who did just as much, if not more, who figured out the formulas, rediscovered something that hadn't been seen in more than a thousand years, and invented a way to use it before the world got eaten by the Adephagos. Everyone recognizes the mage is important; they just don't understand _why, _exactly. The average person knows nothing of the Rizomata Formula and mana and apatheia-to-spirit conversion. They don't understand those things.

They understand heroes, something greater than they are, something that needs no explanation. They understand princesses, beautiful legends, symbols of the people – gifted with powers far beyond the ordinary. One can adore a princess or a hero.

One cannot adore a prickly mage, someone, who, if thanked for saving the world, would be just as likely to burn you as acknowledge you. One cannot adore the lifesaver because one just doesn't _understand _the value of the true achievement, the effort, the blood, the sweat, the tears of those endless nights of desperation, searching for a way to save the first friend ever had. (Rita knows nothing about that, too, of course.)

So the mage comes in third. Important, but not _important. _The one who sits in the corner at the victory ball with a glass of nonalcoholic punch, because she _still _isn't old enough to drink, dammit, saving the world or no, pretending to read a book while the hero and the princess waltz on the dance floor, blissfully content.

They deserve it. They deserve each other.

And, dammit, Rita _will _be happy for them, no matter how much it hurts.

All of Brave Vesperia is here, Repede excluded – he was, before the crowd of adoring girls got to be too much for him and he fled to the kitchens and the choice scraps there. Karol inherited the majority of the fangirls, stuttering and blushing, until Nan came up to him and demanded a dance loudly – one he looked happy about even as he was dragged onto the dance floor by the collar and Clint and Tison glared from the corner. Raven, seemingly perfectly unconcerned with the fact that he was in the thick of people who had known him as the late Schwann, was flirting with a few blushing noblewomen by the refreshment table, combining two of his deepest loves. Typical. Judith, surrounded by a crowd of gaping admirers in a dress that left less to the imagination than a swimsuit on any other girl, was amusing herself with saying things like "The Empire is really very nice, isn't it? If only there was better company there" in such a pleasant tone none of them even noticed.

There were other acquaintances, too, people here from their travels – Kaufman from Fortune's Market, who could pull off a dress and drink any ten nobles or guild members under the table, as she was doing currently, the mages of Aspio, now Halure, whom she had only driven off with the threat of a Crimson Flare earlier, and Leblanc, who was loudly regarding anyone who wanted to listen or couldn't get away with tales of the great (late) Captain Schwann, with Adecor and Boccos contributing. Flynn, in full Commandant's regalia, was talking to a richly-robed Council member, Sodia, actually in a dress, for once, twirling stiffly in the arms of another off-duty guard and trying to look like she wasn't watching the Commandant, and Apple-head, deep in the crowd of mages, extolling his exploits as one of the members of the Brigade that had helped to stop the Adephagos and save the world, being the _personal _mage of the Commandant. The Flynn Brigade was standing guard at the entrances and exits, of course, and the new Emperor, Ioder –

Rita frowned. Wait. Where _was _Ioder? Surely the Emperor himself couldn't just leave his own party. Not if _she _got turned away by the guards, saying there was a "special announcement" later that she absolutely had to be here for. So where did –

"Miss Mordio?" Rita turned at the sound of the voice, a retort and fireball spell ready to be unleashed, just in case, only to come across the slight but decorated form of the very person she had been looking for – he'd gotten a little taller, his hair had been cut, and had his eyes been so very _blue _the last time they met? Well, it was understandable if she hadn't payed much attention to him, being in mortal danger and saving the world and all. "Would you care to dance with me?"

His voice was too soft, too noble, too – _enticing, _a little voice whispered inside of her, _too good to be real, for someone like _you, _the mage, he noticed you alone in the corner and is just being polite _– _noble _for her to feel comfortable, and so she responded bluntly, the way she did to all things outside of her comfort zone. "If I wanted to dance, I would be over there acting like an idiot with the other girls," Rita snapped. "You know, the noble ones, whose mothers are in a group plotting your marriage to their daughter? Why don't you go dance with one of _them, _Your High and Mighty Emperorness?"

"Because I want to dance with you," Ioder said placidly, taking a seat – uninvited – beside her on the broad windowsill, near enough to touch. Smack, Rita corrected herself firmly. Though somehow she didn't think it would go over very well to hit the Emperor in his castle, surrounded by guards and people loyal to the throne. "I have spent upwards of three hours dancing with and listening to the elegant, polite chatter of the finest flowers of the nobility. They can survive for five minutes without my attention. Please call me Ioder, Miss Mordio." Where did this guy get off, anyway? His Imperial Majesty wanted her to refer to him by his first name, but _he _couldn't put together the letters R-I-T-A into a word with two distinct syllables?

"Sure thing, Your High and Mighty Emperorness," she retorted angrily. "Is Ioder your real first name, anyway? After all, if Estellise is any example, the imperial family likes long names. Are you sure it's not something like Ioderystan or Ioderawem or Ioderlise?"

"I assure you, my name is merely Ioder, Miss Mordio," he replied, eyes glinting in – was that amusement? How _dare _he be amused at _her, _Rita Mordio, one of the people who had made this stupid celebration possible, which she was regretting heavily – something … liquid as he turned to face her. "I believe I told you to call me by my first name. Would you like me to make it a royal decree that you do so and have it read out to the ballroom?"

Against her will, Rita flushed. Gods, that would be humiliating. Yuri, Judith, the brat, and the old man would never stop teasing her, and Estelle would be _so _disappointed. Not to mention the rest of the room gawking. Meteor Storm would be unsafe in such a close area, and Tidal Wave would ruin the pretty decorations. Actually, screw that. If it came down to it, Tidal Wave would do a perfect job of getting everyone to take her seriously without having to kill a few morons, first. "You wouldn't."

Ioder cleared his throat mock-seriously. "'Hear ye, hear ye, in the eleventh day of Asule, in the first year of the reign of Emperor Heurassin, His Imperial Majesty would like to declare that the heroes of the world, consisting of the Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassin, the guild Brave Vesperia, Commandant Flynn Schifo, and, most notably, a certain stubborn mage named Rita Mordio, are hereby ordered to address the Emperor specifically and exclusively by 'Ioder.' Those who refuse will be punished by having to be Emperor for a day and see how much _they _like to be called that. Furthermore, Miss Mo – "

"Okay, okay," Rita hissed, glancing furtively about the ballroom to make sure no one had wandered close enough to their little corner – hey, wait, since when was it _their _little corner? She had obviously staked it out as _hers _– to hear the Emperor acting like a buffoon. "You win. I'll call you Ioder. But I'm _not _dancing with you." No matter how charming his blue eyes were. Lots of people had blue eyes. Lots of people who weren't blond-haired and attractive and charming and – and – _giant freaking jerks!_

His damned blue eyes twinkled. "Do I need to issue a decree to get you to do that, too?"

Rita growled audibly. "Fine. And if I step on your feet multiple times, it's because I'm just clumsy, not because I hate you and there are imperial guards that would jump on me if I tried anything more obvious." Ioder chuckled and outstretched his hand. Rita pointedly ignored it, standing up on her own and setting her book aside. Just because she had to do this didn't mean she had to _like _it, dammit. She had no intention whatsoever of buying into his game, whatever it was.

Ioder grinned. "Noted. And, of course, when Estellise saw you dancing on the streets of Mantaic that was merely a trick of the light or you were practicing spell patterns, correct?"

Rita blushed. _Damn _him. Damn him, damn him, damn him. She _hated _blushing. It was so – so – utterly _girly. _Weak. Why the hell had Estelle been talking about her dancing to Ioder, anyway? Was he some kind of sicko or something? "Let's just get this over with, _Ioder, _before that stupid special announcement or whatever happens and I can get out of here. Unless, of course, you've changed your mind." Please say n – argh, _yes! _She meant yes! Say yes, you've changed your mind, you stupid idiot! You mistook me for a noble girl, someone actually likable and appropriate for the Emperor to dance with, and you'll leave me to my book and my corner for the rest of the party.

"No." Rita flushed, again, at his flat dismissal, and glared to cover it up. Pointedly ignoring his offered hand (again) she led the way to the dance floor, where she was forced to actually have skin-on-skin contact that didn't involve her fist connecting with his face. His hands actually had a few calluses, she noted, though the rest was lily-soft, like a predictably noble, and quite warm. Well, he had been the favored candidate of the Imperial Knights – like Estelle, he could probably use a sword. Suddenly her hands felt all clammy. Was she sweating? Surely not. It was one dance, one little bit of contact for society's sake, nothing to get upset about –

The dance was an easy one, though painfully slow, a waltz, and Ioder, unsurprisingly, was an excellent leader. He had probably had dance lessons since childhood, being a prince. Anyway, it meant she had to do nothing but keep from killing him and try (despite her threats to the contrary) not to step on his feet, which was easy enough. They danced in an uncomfortable silence, and Rita was irritably aware of the way the stupid nobles had started to point and whisper at them.

"Did you do all of this just to start a weird rumor about us being together?" Rita muttered sharply on one of the turns, making sure that everyone in the half-circle of the ballroom she faced got a good dose of her glare, including Karol and Raven, who were watching and guffawing like the idiots they were. "I bet you did it just to get some of the noble girls off of your back because you're too nice to tell them no. Now I'm going to spend the next month hearing everyone tease me about this."

"I have no doubt that the members of the Council and the Captains of the Knights will lecture me severely," Ioder replied, still smiling serenely in that infuriating way of his. Who, besides Estelle, had the right to be so damned happy? Wasn't he currently complaining about being the Emperor? "I am willing to accept the repercussions for the pleasure of being in your company. I apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience I may have caused, Miss Mordio."

Okay. She was going to have to say it, wasn't she? This was going to be humiliating. "Look … Ioder," Rita forced out, gritting her teeth, "you don't have to call me 'Miss Mordio'. You're Estelle's cousin. You can call me Rita, okay?"

"Really?" he asked, and then winced, blushing. Wow. He actually looked kind of cute flustered. _I did not just think that. _"Um, I mean, thank you, Miss Mor – Rita. I am eternally grateful for being allowed the pleasure of the use of your given name."

Who talked like that, anyway? No one but the people inside Estelle's stupid stories. Well, she certainly wasn't one of those flowery, swooning heroines, thank aer. Rita rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's not like it's a gift or anything." The music wound down, and they came to a gentle, gradual stop, ending up back where they had begun, near her beautiful, deserted dark corner. No one had dared to invade it in her absence, luckily. "Um, you can let go of me now. The dance is over."

Ioder flushed again. "Right. My apologies." He released her hand and his grip around her waist – Rita tried very, very hard not to ponder the sudden feeling of absence too deeply – and stepped back, bowing. "Thank you for gifting me with this dance, Rita." Apparently all royalty liked excessive formality and bowing. Who knew?

"It was nothing. See you later, Ioder." Not giving him time to respond, Rita plunged through the crowd – all staring, she noticed – and resumed her position, picked up her book, and furiously began to read, ignoring the fact that the words were incomprehensible for some reason and the heat of her cheeks. _It meant nothing, _she reminded herself firmly.

The mage didn't wind up with the Emperor. That just wasn't how the story went.

"Hey, Rita. It's time for the special announcement. They want us all in the front. Come on." Rita was interrupted from the ancient pre-blastia techniques in the book she had stolen from the castle library – which was _finally _getting interesting, dammit – by Karol, who she hit upside the head for disturbing her.

"What the hell?" she demanded, as he rubbed his head and grimaced, whining like usual (sissy). "Why would they need us for their stupid special announcement?"

"Well, the ball is being held in our honor, Rita," Karol managed, stepping back and managing to avoid her second slap. "I bet they're going to reward us or something, for defeating the Adephagos. OW!" There. Got him. Rita sat back smugly and Karol groaned. "Gah, I can't believe I picked two. Why did Yuri have to choose such a high number? Why did we even let Yuri choose the number, anyway?"

"What are you babbling on about, brat?" Rita demanded, forgoing politeness, as usual. It was overrated, and it wasn't like it seemed to be doing anyone else any good. "Wait … you guys _picked numbers _over who was going to have to come tell me?"

Karol rubbed his head nervously. "Um … yeah? Maybe?"

"Why you-!" Rita leapt up, glaring – _how dare they, why not just leave her there, if no one wanted to come talk to her – _and braced her hand for a smack as Karol quivered, shrinking back.

"It was Raven's idea!" Karol said quickly, looking for someone to blame, no doubt, to get him out of a well-deserved beating. "And Yuri was the one who actually said we should go along with it!"

"…Fine," she relented begrudgingly, dropping her hand. "I'll kill you ALL after this stupid special announcement. Lead the way, brat."

Rita could have sworn she heard him mutter "Would it kill you to say my name for once?" under his breath. But that was impossible. Karol was stupid, but he wasn't suicidal, was he?

Maybe she'd hit him on the head a bit too hard this time.

She hit him for that, anyway, because, unless he was saying "Mold wit fill yew two say mi game her wons?" there wasn't much else he could have been mumbling, and if he had been saying that, he needed to be hit for speaking gibberish no sane person could understand properly.

"Aw, Rita," Karol groaned, and she was about to hit him again for good measure (it was surprisingly therapeutic) but they were already at the front of the room, and Estelle was beckoning.

"Rita!" she whispered, face shining like a beacon. "I saw you dancing with Ioder! You two looked so good together! Do you like him?"

"Why the hell would I – " Rita started to say, but was cut off. Leblanc stood in front of them.

He cleared his throat and declared. "Silence, all of you! Let the Emperor speak!" His booming voice rang through the room, halting all of the conversations as everyone turned to the source. Namely, Leblanc, and beside him, Emperor Ioder. Also, behind him, Rita and everyone else. She blushed and then glared fiercely. She _hated _staring people. Would they still be able to stare if she incinerated them? Huh?

"Ladies and gentlemen, guests and citizens, we are here today to honor those who defeated the foul Adephagos and saved our world from destruction," Ioder began, voice entirely unlike his usual quiet calmness. It was actually almost … impressive, and everyone else in the room – except maybe Yuri, and her, of course – definitely thought so. "Firstly, our own Commandant Flynn Schifo, who I grant in reward a seat on the Council for him and his heirs, 24000 gald, and Imperial permission to court a member of his guard." Flynn blushed and Sodia, near the front of the crowd, gaped, mouth open in an unbecoming way. Rita nearly snorted. It figured that blondie knight-boy would fall for dutiful knight-girl and ask the _Emperor _for permission instead of asking her like any sane person.

"Secondly, to Yuri Lowell and Princess Estellise, I grant the Princess the right to choose her own husband and Yuri Lowell the right to court royalty if he so chooses." Estelle blushed and clasped her hands together, lips trembling, and Yuri reached out to pull one away and hold it, gently. Rita felt her lips – unwillingly – moving up into a smile. They were so disgustingly perfect it made her nauseous. Happy and nauseous.

"Thirdly, I grant Karol Capel, Judith Dragoon, and the guild Brave Vesperia the protection of the Empire and an outpost in Zaphias, as well as 7200000 gald for their services. A job well done, Brave Vesperia." Polite laughter; Karol looked like his face would split in two if his smile got any wider. Judith still looked amused, but her eyes were shining, and even Yuri was smiling. Raven wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eye and sniffed loudly. Stupid old faker.

"Fourthly, I grant Raven of Altosk 24000 gald and the right to dispose of the late Captain Schwann's possessions as he pleases. I have heard that they were very close friends, and the Captain left no will." Raven gasped and clutched his heart, looking happy enough, she supposed; it was enough that he wouldn't think of something he wanted from inside the castle and ask _them _to help him break in.

"Fifthly, I grant to Repede – wherever he may be" – more laughter "- a free request, because I have racked my brains for hours, along with my counselors, and we could not think of a single thing he would be in need or want of. Perhaps I should have included him earlier, with the rest of Brave Vesperia. At any rate, our kitchens are always open to him, along with the rest of the castle. I'm sure Yuri will pass on the message." Lucky mutt. Rita would much rather be in the kitchens right now.

Because now everyone was staring at _her _for some reason. Idiots.

Oh, wait. She was the last to be mentioned. Predictable.

"Lastly, but not in any way leastly, I grant Rita Mordio the title of Lady and all it entails, 2400 gald, and the newly created position of Head Imperial Mage, along with permanent quarters in the castle. Now, please give a round of applause to the heroes who saved the world!" Shouts rang out. Rita was too stunned to join in, as if she would.

_Lady? _He had made her a freaking noble? What the _hell _had possessed Ioder to do something like _that? _What did Head Imperial Mage mean, anyway?

Ioder was clapping too, and didn't protest overmuch when Yuri grabbed him around the shoulders and steered him over to the group, grinning, the official signal for everyone to go back to what they were doing. "Thanks, man," Yuri said. "You'll be a great … er … cousin-in-law, I guess."

"You're welcome, Yuri, Estellise, all of you," Ioder said, bowing his head. "It was the least I could do."

Now that was ridiculous. "No," Rita said tartly, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot on the floor to properly convey her irritation, "the least you could have done was nothing. Or you could have persecuted us for wrecking all the blastia. Rewarding this sends a public message of Imperial support, which is certainly not 'nothing.' And I'm sure that the nobles would hate to know that one of their titles and a bunch of their gald just got shelled out as 'the least you could do.'"

Ioder bowed. "I apologize, Lady Mordio."

"Give him a break, Rita," Karol complained, and then jumped back, covering his head with his hands. "Y-yah! Don't hurt me!"

After a moment, Rita decided that crushing him was so easy it just wasn't worth the bother. "… You're pathetic," she declared. "I'll get you for that later. And as for _you, _didn't I tell you to call me Rita?"

Raven swung an arm around Ioder. "Aw, isn't that sweet?" he said loudly, grinning. "I think our genius mage is in love."

"I'll get you, old man!"

It turned out that her new position as Head Imperial Mage required weekly reports to Ioder, something Rita was _not _happy about, especially since every damn person in the palace except Estelle went around calling her "Lady Mordio" now. Miss had been bad enough.

Well, at least it wasn't the full Council.

"… and so mana will never be a full substitute for aer, but some of the smaller blastias may be able to utilize it. A few successful tests have been completed so far in Halure, and …" Rita noticed that Ioder was staring at her, eyes glazed and head propped up by his hands, and stopped abruptly. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" Ioder jumped, confusion plain on his face. He shook his head ruefully. "Oh. My apologies, Lady Rita. My thoughts were elsewhere. I have been very busy as of late, but that is no excuse."

"It's just Rita, I told you," she said absently, getting a closer look at him. Now that she thought about it, those were some pretty dark circles. Just how busy was he, anyway? It wouldn't do the Empire any good if its leader were to collapse from exhaustion and overwork. "When was the last time you slept properly?"

He blinked dazedly. "The night before last, possibly? I can scarcely recall it."

"Okay, that's it." Rita stood up, closing the folder of notes – not like she needed it anyway – with a snap. "You need to go to bed and get some sleep, _now. _This research will wait, and so will everything else. I will order the guards at your door to keep you inside if I have to, but you won't be doing anything else until you look like you're actually alive."

"Rita, I can't just shirk my responsibilities in such a manner – " Ioder began to protest, swallowing hard. He swayed on his feet and looked momentarily stunned.

"And when's the last time you've eaten?" Rita asked in satisfaction and a minor – very minor – twinge of concern. "You need food and you need to sleep. I don't need to be a healer to tell you that. Do you think the Empire will run any better if you collapse in the middle of a Council meeting? Or worse, during a sparring session?"

Ioder winced. "You're right. I am being remiss in my duties. I apologize very much for wasting your time today, Rita."

"Saving you from yourself isn't a waste of time," Rita said dismissively, trying her hardest not to think of how cute his constant apologizing habit was actually sort of cute and annoying at the same time. She flapped the folder out of him. "Now get out of here. I expect you ready and rested for next week."

"Thank you, Rita." How did he always manage to sound so sincere? It wasn't like she was doing anything but boss him around. Anyone could do so.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Everyone else would have done it." Rita kept her head bent towards the table so he wouldn't see her damn blush, and after another moment, he left.

Rita sprawled back on Estelle's bed, which was neatly made, like always, though she was never quite sure if Estelle neatened it herself or if the maids snuck in to correct the princess's efforts, preparing to act like a teenage girl instead of a genius blastia mage for once in her life and indulge in some genuine gossip. "So, you and Yuri are engaged, right? When's the wedding going to be?"

Estelle bit her lip and blushed, hands fluttering in her lap. "Um, well, we're not sure yet. You see, it's tradition that the Emperor marry before the other unwed members of the royal family."

Rita sat upright, already steaming. "That's a piece of crap. Why would Ioder care? He's probably not going to get married for a few years. You and Yuri deserve to be happy now and have lots of sarcastic, perpetually happy children to grow up with the litters of pups the mutt is fathering all over the city."

Estelle picked at a loose thread and shook her head. Wait, why would her gown have a loose thread, anyway? She only fiddled with things like that when she was nervous. "Ioder wouldn't, really, but he's got someone he wants to ask, and I don't want to get in the way of his celebration. It shouldn't be for much longer, and Yuri is busy setting up the guild base at Dahngrest anyway."

"Oh." For some reason, the thought of Ioder having a noble girl – _for that's surely what she was, a pretty, refined noble girl, one who talks like he does and would make a beautiful empress _– made her stomach twist oddly. To think that he had been courting someone all these weeks and not said so much as a word to her. But then again, who, besides Estelle, would tell Rita Mordio anything about their relationship? "That's nice for him, then. I'm sure she's very pretty."

"Um, Rita?" Estelle looked up in confusion. "I was talking about _you."_

"Wait, what?" Confusion filled Rita, and next came the most logical step: uncontrolled rage. Estelle wouldn't be having this problem, she reasoned, if Ioder were dead. No reason to wait for a wedding that was never going to happen. Sure, Estelle would have to become Empress and probably be unable to marry Yuri because of that, but htose were just technicalities –

"Rita," Estelle said, looking worried, "where are you going? You aren't going to hurt him, are you?"

"Only a little," she promised, though her instincts were calling for blood. "I'll be back, Estelle. Don't wait up for me."

Then she went out into the hallway to begin her pursuit.

An hour later, Rita was thoroughly sick and tired of hallways and servants and nobles and guards, none of whom seemed to be Ioder, who she wanted to find and kiss – that is, kill. Kill!

She shuddered. Zagi moment. Incinerate sounded much better. Drown, perhaps. Strike with a meteor. Something resulting in painful death.

"Rita." She turned. She could recognize that voice anywhere by now.

Her hands formed the position and the red formula began to glow beneath her feet. "Ioder," Rita growled. "Any last words?"

He watched her calmly, patiently, with those damn blue eyes of his. "I love you. Will you marry me?"

The spell disappeared as if it had never been. Rita pondered, vaguely, whether there was still any air in her lungs, and if so, what she would use it to say in response? No, go to hell …? No, go marry a noble, one of your own kind? Yes, I love you too …?

Wait, _what?_

Rita gaped at the thought, mouth opening inadvertently. She couldn't really _love _him, could she?

Ioder took the opportunity to step forward and kiss her. His lips pressed against hers, and, well, Rita had always thought kissing was a useless pre-mating ritual involving swapping germs and odious saliva, something she would never indulge in, but … this felt … nice.

He drew back, gently, and bowed. "I apologize for my forwardness, Lady Rita."

Rita laughed, a wheezing sound almost like a sob. Not that she ever cried. "It's just Rita, you idiot. Did you really make Estelle postpone her wedding so you could ask me?"

"She wanted to do it." Ioder took a tentative step back. "I'll go inform her that she may proceed with the preparations, then. Good day."

That was a sudden change of subject. "Wait, why?"

He bowed again. "Because clearly you don't want to marry me, Rita. There's no reason for her to wait any further."

Now that was some faulty logic, somehow. Rita blinked. "I never said that."

"You never said you did want to marry me, either."

Rita put a hand on her hip and frowned. "Fine. I want to marry you. Does that make you happy?"

Suddenly she was in his arms and he was kissing her again, and this time was even better than the last. "Yes," he breathed as he pulled back. "More than anything. Rita." He looked alarmed. "I left the ring in my room when I came out to search for you."

"Like I care." She pulled him down for another kiss – he had gotten taller in the past months, she distantly noticed – and the ring was forgotten for the time being.

Estelle threw her arms around Rita, squealing, the first in the congratulations line, and Rita realized that it wasn't really so annoying anymore. Almost cute. "I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed, muffled, as Yuri clapped Ioder on the shoulder and congratulated him on catching the equivalent of a man-eating tiger for his bed (Rita vowed to kill him later – sometime at the reception, definitely). "You two look so cute together! I can't believe you're married! Who'd have thought you'd be the first?"

_First, _Rita thought. Not third, after Yuri and Estelle's wedding. First. "Thanks, Estelle."

It occurred to her, right then, hugging her best friend and standing beside her husband (who was, unfortunately, Emperor, but, fortunately, a great kisser) that she had been worrying about how her name was going to go down in history books t_hat she'd never see_. Honestly, who _cared? _ She was alive right _now, _and that was all that mattered. Even if she was now technically the stupid Empress.

She didn't need a hero. She could fend for herself, anyway, unlike Estelle, and she never really wanted to be a princess. She just wanted to be someone's first.

Rita laughed out loud, not caring who heard, and when Karol queried anxiously as to the state of her health, she didn't even hit him _that _hard.


	2. Being Head Imperial Mage

**A/N: Okay. Thank you all very, very much for the reviews. This filling-in-the-gaps continuation is an effort to get myself in the mood to write a multichaptered Iota fic, because there needs to be one, and is inspired by blahblahblah, who thought that the relationship needed more fleshing out, and Blade Liger Knight, who reminded me that, because so tragically few people know of Iota, Rita is getting paired with Raven and Karol. (Karol? Really? I understand he likes dominant girls, but Rita would never settle for him.)**

**This takes place after the awarding, obviously, but before the private briefing. Enjoy.**

…

All in all, Head Imperial Mage wasn't a horrible title – apart from the jokes Raven made about what she'd had to do to get it, the reason why they used the word _Head_, wink wink. Generally Estelle could be counted on not to heal him after a comment like that, but with one to five broken ribs, a fractured wrist, two broken legs, and warring collections of bruises and burns of every degree, primarily third, there really wasn't much of a choice if he wanted to be alive to continue making those kinds of jokes. Everyone except for Ioder avoided Rita for a week after that, and maybe, just_ maybe, _she had overreacted a little. (In her defense, there were few monsters strong enough to test the spells she was converting from aer-to-mana formulae, so after testing out Ground Dasher it just seemed logical to test out Violent Pain and Crimson Flare, and get them all out of the way – besides, it wasn't just _her _honor Raven had been impugning. Ioder may be a bit of a wimp who apologized too damn much and had an annoying inability to call her by her given name without being corrected, _constantly, _but he would never do something like that.)

The job, however – _that _was horrible. Terrible. Worse than spending an afternoon alone with Raven and Karol. Worse than spending an afternoon alone with just Raven. Worse than spending an afternoon alone with just Raven, tied up with one of her own former-aer-conducting scarves, stuck there until she apologized. (Karol's idea, though Yuri and Judith implemented it. She burned through the scarf, even though it hurt like hell, and tested out a few more spells on them. To be fair, after that, she _did _apologize to Raven, when she found him cowering in a corner – "tactical retreat", her ass – and his eyes went wider than they had been the first time he'd caught sight of Judith. She smacked him again, and equilibrium was restored between them.)

It wasn't the research that was so bad, or the mana, or anything like that – it wasn't even Ioder, or the palace, which was pretty disgusting, the way everyone bowed or curtsied and muttered "Lady Mordio" when they saw her, and, even worse, when Rita had figured out how to create mana-powered listening devices and planted them throughout the castle to find out what everyone was going to get her for her birthday, just for the heck of it, only to discover that servants were posted to go run and warn other people away when she exited her rooms, so she could be avoided by the other nobles, and also that she had never told Estelle or Brave Vesperia about her birthday.

It was the people. Before, she had been a researcher, yes, but an _independent _researcher – if the other mages were being idiots and disagreed with her, she ignored them. Or cast Fireball. She worked alone and she liked it just fine that way. She didn't have to talk to anyone that didn't understand her work, either, excepting the Commandant, who was actually really good for bouncing ideas off of (of course, that was probably because he was knowledgeable about blastia, seeing as he had constructed one that functioned as a heart and actually implanted it successfully in a living person's chest).

Now, she hardly got any work done, because if it wasn't another useless mage who wanted to know about the Summon Spirits or the formulae she was using or whether she thought bronze or copper was a better mana conductor or if the blastia would ever work again, particularly the aquae blastia and the barriers, it was an ordinary citizen anxious for reassurance or unhappy with the rate of progress, who thought they knew they could do their job better than her and told her so.

_To her face. _She was _Rita Mordio, _and if they thought they could get away with that such a small portion of their brain was functioning that they shouldn't be allowed to reproduce and contaminate the gene pool.

After her first report, in their private conference, Ioder had _very nicely_ asked her to please not kill or seriously injure his subjects, because he was supposed to be against that on principle, as Emperor, and if she did that, they wouldn't be able to do their jobs, which was bad for the economy. Rita had a very seriously moral and intellectual struggle over just how hurt constituted _serious injury, _and eventually decided that Champagne wouldn't hurt them, only soak them and startle them a bit. If they kept talking after that, Stalagmite was acceptable, to knock them off of the Idiot Pedestal, and if they were still too stupid to shut it, it was okay to resort to fireballs and aim for the face.

The one saving grace about all of the new and unpleasant human contact was that, to go to all of these places, hear their complaints, and fix their problems, she had to do a lot of traveling – which involved alone time and killing monsters, two things she greatly enjoyed. Occasionally Estelle came along to heal people, sometimes even without Yuri, if he was off on a Manly Voyage with Flynn, or Judith would get bored between jobs and she'd spear animals for Rita to barbecue, and even braid Rita's hair, which was getting longer than efficiency length, though Ioder had given her a clip that was surprisingly good at holding it back for no apparent reason, or Yuri would get restless in the palace and come with her to avoid challenging the nobles that still flirted with Estelle despite her happily engaged state to a duel, and even Karol or Raven were acceptable company, for a little while at least. With Karol and Judith busy building Brave Vesperia into a true guild and not a ragtag collection of heroes, using the gald and legitimacy the Emperor had given them, Raven advising Harry and making sure Altosk didn't slip from prominence into _complete _obscurity, after the death of the Don, and Yuri and Estelle, setting up their revolting little love nest and arguing over every single detail of what was sure to be a hellish week of balls, parties, and tournaments leading up to their wedding. (Yuri wanted to elope; Estelle insisted that, as a princess, it wouldn't be fair if she didn't have a state wedding. Yuri wanted a Lower Quarter ceremony, where the couple held hands, vowed to honor, love, and partner each other as long as they both lived, kissed, and snuck off while guests danced wildly; Estelle thought it would scandalize the populace and it would be better to have the Imperial Ceremony, which involved a reading of the lineage of the imperial line, from the very first emperor, and seven witnesses to swear for the character of both the bride and the groom. Frankly, Rita thought it was a load of crap, but enjoyed teasing Yuri about being worried he wouldn't be able to find enough witnesses.)

Repede, not that she was occasionally lonely enough to wonder about the dumb dog, actually traveled with her the most, possibly treating her as a substitute for Yuri, because Yuri-softened-by-Estelle-and-practically-nobility just wasn't _Yuri _anymore – when he was in the city, nobody really knew what he did, but Rita had seen him with both the children of the Lower Quarter and a comely female dog, so she figured that his biological clock had finally told him it was time to get to puppy-making. After all, he was the new ruler of the cats and dogs of Zaphias, and the master scent-marker as well.

So, traveling was … nice, whether it meant she got to be alone or spend time with her friends. Correction, travel _had _been nice, before Ioder had decided that he needed to supervise the first test of the new mana-powered barrier, which was the easiest to start with, because the tree was just _swimming _in mana, for some freakish reason, and had invited himself along on her trip, along with a company of guards to protect His High and Mighty Emperorness. Thusly, they were moving at a snail's pace, and the monsters were avoiding their noisy procession, which meant she couldn't take her anger out on anything.

Honestly, this wasn't worth it. There was no reason at all she needed to travel with the Emperor and his procession – of course, Ioder didn't see it that way, so she would pack up her stuff and hit the road at night. Even if they sentries caught her, they wouldn't dare to stop her.

Until then, though, Rita had to keep her temper. She watched the morons setting up tents and gathering firewood, wondering whether any of them were actually allowed to share a fire with Ioder, now that he was the Emperor, and if it would be considered rude if she built her own and ate alone – hey, where was Ioder, anyway? _No, don't think that, whenever you do he pops up – _

"Are you feeling well, Lady Mo – Rita?" She groaned. There he was, right on freaking cue. He should have been in a circus.

"I'm just fantastic. You know, I can't see why I don't travel with guardsmen of my own. Oh, wait – I can. Because they're absolute and utter _morons _with the brains of mushrooms, the speed of snails, and the collective ferocity of headless chickens. Do you really think that these buffoons would be able to stop a serious assassin like Zagi?"

Ioder smiled. "If an assassin comes in the night, I'm relying on you to stop him or her – it makes the Imperial Knights feel better when I take a guard, and it reassures the populace. I would prefer to travel with fewer guards, but an Emperor's life does not belong to him, it belongs to the people – I can't entrust it to my own meager sword skills, and, while you're more than enough protection for anything we may come across in the wilderness, the Knights would be considerably more worried about you killing me, or injuring me and leaving me to die, though the argument they used was one of impropriety. You're a Lady now, after all, and it would be wrong of me to allow any stain to be cast on your honor."

Rita actually laughed, that was so ridiculous. She laughed until she was short of breath, closing her eyes and trying desperately to stop, but every time she opened her eyes Ioder was still there, staring, with this look of complete and utter confusion on his face, and it just set her off again and _she couldn't stop laughing. _

It went on until tears welled up in her eyes and she forced rational self to take back control, because crying over this would be ridiculous – besides, it hadn't been _that _funny. Ioder, the sad little chivalrous, chauvinistic idiot, actually _meant _it. It was kind of sweet, actually – if she was an empty-headed noble girl who thought that breaking a nail was the worst thing that could happen in a day and not a genius mage who generally told people that referred to her as "Lady" they could shove the damn title up their well-bred asses.

"Rita? What's wrong? What's so humorous?" Ioder asked helplessly.

Rita drew in a deep breath and tried to keep in mind that she was addressing the Emperor, who really didn't know what was so wrong and what was so humorous, and tried to explain in a way that didn't consist _entirely _of insults. "Seriously, Ioder, I don't care about my _title _or my _reputation _– and if anybody wants to talk about me to my face or behind my back they know what'll happen to them. Anyone who thinks that you would be able to take advantage of me is touched in the head or suffering from sunstroke – if we did anything it would be _my _choice, and I wouldn't be ashamed of it." Of course, Ioder might be. "On the other hand, if you're worried about protecting _your _honor and virtue, I can assure there is no reason to be afraid whatsoever."

Ioder blushed. "Nothing of the sort crossed my mind, I assure you."

"Yeah, well, whatever." She looked away from him, towards the knight who was heading in their direction, nervously prepared to disrupt their alone time – good. She wasn't really in the mood for standing around in an awkward silence.

"Your Imperial Majesty, your fire is ready. Would you permit one of us to cook for you?" he asked.

Rita couldn't help it – she snorted. "You're _Knights – _glorified watchdogs, not chefs. I'll show you how to cook when you travel, Ioder, and you'll eat it whether you like it or not. Got it?"

"Is she bothering you, Your Imperial Majesty … ?" the Knight asked hesitantly.

"Not at all," Ioder said. He turned to look at Rita, and that same utterly unfathomable smile was back on his stupid face, his stupid eyes sparkling in the stupid firelight and for absolutely no other reason. "I would love that."

…

Rita considered not-leaving for half a second, when she got back to her tent after eating with Ioder in a conversation that was 25% about Halure and the barrier, 25% about Yuri, Estelle, and the rest, 35% actual conversation and only 15% pure awkwardness.

Then she shook off that ridiculous thought – Ioder would probably want to eat with his knights tomorrow, anyway – and packed up, leaving her tent – it was only a distraction – and gathering bedroll, books, food, the general essentials.

There was always the worry that Ioder would be stupid enough to assume that someone would be able to kidnap her or waste time searching for her, anyway, so she left a note.

_I'm going ahead to make sure the barrier is functioning properly, so you don't waste time waiting when you get there. Have fun with your nursemaids, Your High and Mighty Emperorness. _

In the end, she didn't sign it. There was no call for something mushy, like _love, _and there was no way he wouldn't know who it was from.

…

"The Emperor is coming! The Emperor is coming!" some random brat shouted, little legs pumping as he ran through the village.

"Do you think we're ready to try it out?" Desconta asked, resting his hand on the trunk and wiping sweat from his brow in a motion that managed to be distracting, somehow. Probably just the sun.

"I can't think of another safeguard to put in the formula, but I've been running on empty for the last three days," Fletcher groaned, leaning her head back and reaching up to massage her neck.

"It's ready," Rita muttered, wishing, for a moment, that she wasn't wearing sweat-stained work clothes and working on a sleep deficit – Ioder was sure to be angry. Well, whatever. The blastia work was more than even her pessimistic side expected, especially when she snapped and sent away all of the other mages, because the idiots weren't helping anyway, and if Ioder had been around, hovering and distracting her _– _distracting the _workers, _it would have taken even longer. "When the Emperor gets here, we'll test it, as long as he gives the okay. We'll be right here to do damage control if anything goes wrong."

"I have a good feeling about this," Desconta murmured, grinning wearily. "After all, it's been checked over by the brilliant Rita Mordio – how could anything go wrong? You figured out _the _first aer-to-mana conversion formula, after all." His face turned more intent. "I just wanted to say that it was an honor to work with you – enjoyable, too. Hopefully, if Halure has any more problems, or you just feel the inclination to stop by, we'll be able to collaborate again."

Fletcher rolled her eyes, and Rita shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I enjoyed working with you too. Both of you." Hopefully that would send the back-off message, and there wouldn't be a need to further deplete her magical stores as a deterrent. It _was _fun, too, being able to bounce ideas off of other competent mages, people who actually understood what she said, until he'd brought … _that _… into it. Rita Mordio was uncomfortable with hero worship and even more so with romantic interest. She was third. Raven would end up with Judith, eventually, Karol would win Nan over, and she would adopt one of Repede's puppies and someday retire to a remote hut like the one she used to have in Aspio, where she'd probably keep researching and creating until she died.

Mutt Junior had better not touch her books or notes with its teeth or claws or big muddy paws. Maybe she should have a plant instead.

"Announcing His Imperial Majesty, Ioder Sidos Heurassin!" Random Anonymous Knight Who Was Apparently a Herald as Well as a Lapdog shouted, and there was Ioder, eyes cold. Well, it wasn't like eyes had temperatures or whatever, but he definitely didn't look happy to see her.

"Lady Mordio," Ioder began quietly, when he was near enough, Fletcher and Desconta listening, faces worried, "when you are traveling with me, I expect you to _remain _traveling with me until we have reached our intended destination. An assassin could very easily forge a note or force you to write one. Additionally, I was hoping to speak with you more about the project during the course of my trip. The next time you feel the need to run off, I will assign you a bodyguard. If you escape your bodyguard, I will hire a member of Brave Vesperia for the task. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Rita replied through clenched teeth, throat tight – _for absolutely no other reason than that she was angry, of course – _and hands twitching in the beginning of "Fireball". "I was needed to help finish work on the barrier. I'm sorry that I went ahead and spared you a week of waiting around here, being served by your idiot lapdogs. We're done and ready to demonstrate. If you'd like to dismiss me from my position, seeing as I'm serving you so unsatisfactorily, please do so – I didn't want the damn thing anyway. If you need help thinking of a replacement, both Fletcher and Desconta – my colleagues, who were instrumental in designing this formula – would do very well."

Ioder actually _snarled, _showing the first genuine anger Rita had seen him show since … well, ever. She wasn't sure he was actually capable of getting angry, before, in any thing other than a stiff, I-am-a-member-of-the-nobility-and-the-all-powerful-Emperor kind of way. "I created the position for _you, _Rita! To make sure you got the resources you needed to actually put your genius to good use! I understand that you're utterly independent and you don't need anyone, ever, for protection or anything else, but _I _need to know you're safe! I'm sorry if that offends you." He stopped, breathing heavily.

Rita was glaring because she was sure she was blushing. Ioder actually looked kind of … cute … when he was passionate.

He had actually been worried about her. The only person who had ever mentioned anything was Raven, and it was in the form of a joke ("If our little genius mage got eaten by monsters, who would I get to fix my heart?"

"…sorry for worrying you," Rita muttered, finally, because nobody else seemed to have anything to say. "The barrier is ready to be turned on. Do you want to see it demonstrated, or have it all explained first, Your High and Mighty Emperorness?"

His eyes softened. "I'd love to see a demonstration, Rita. "

"Great." She turned to the barrier and examined it, very carefully not thinking about how hot her cheeks felt. There was no way it could possibly mean anything. Ioder was an Emperor, and he was going to marry a nice, insipid, well-endowed noble girl, who was going to produce lots of little half-Children-of-the-Full-Moon for Estelle and Repede's puppies to play with.

She was the mage, after all. Maybe there was a spell to take care of this.

…

The guards left them at the entrance to the city at Ioder's request, and they walked the rest of the way in increasingly awkward silence. Estelle as waiting in the courtyard, and when they entered she flew at them, exclaiming, "Ioder! Rita! You're back! How was your trip? Did the barrier blastia work properly? You look tired, Rita. Have you been sleeping well lately?"

Rita blinked as Estelle reached them and threw her arms around her, buffeted by the massive output of Hurricane Estellise. "The trip was fine. It did. Not really." Not since the advent of certain disturbing dreams expressly designed to torment her. It was a good thing Ioder had made the Knights pack up her tent. The watchmen could keep their damn ears to themselves and mind their own business.

"You haven't been sleeping well?" Ioder asked, concerned.

"I'm sure it'll be fine once I'm in a bed again," Rita muttered, allowing Estelle to drag her off to sleep off her journey.

…

That night, the dreams were worse. _Damn damn damn damn damn. _

In the morning, she left for Capua Nor, to start converting the barrier there, as it was the most similar to Halure's. She left a message with Estelle, so she wouldn't have to see Ioder but he couldn't accuse her of leaving a note.

So what if he'd worry.

She had to get over this, and fast. If Ioder ever found out, she would have to kill them both to escape the embarrassment, and then Estelle would be the Empress, and Yuri would be the Emperor, and the two lovebirds would be so busy screwing each other that Repede would have to step in and run the Empire, which was an unreasonably cruel thing to do to him, especially considering he was pretty much her best friend.


End file.
